Fred's Hickory Inn — Restaurant in Bentonville

We have heard lots of great reviews about the food, specifically the cheesecake from this restaurant and drove all the way from Kansas City looking forward to this. We called on the phone and asked if we could order a whole cheesecake to go. The lady on the phone was friendly and said "of course". We drove to the restaurant from 30 minutes away and we're fully prepared and willing to spend 40 dollars on this "amazing dessert". At arrival a lady walked right by us without greeting and finally after about 7 minutes she came up and was not friendly she brought us the cheesecake a while after waiting in a pan. Saying we had to pay 15 dollars CASH to take the pan home and if we wanted the deposit back we had to drive all the way back 30 mins just to get that back. We proceeded to tell her that we were from out of town and had specific plans for this short trip and if she could cut the cheesecake into 4 pieces and put in to-go containers, just as you would if you ordered one piece. She seemed to not listen or care about that fact and we ended up just taking the pan home. We came back today with intentions to talk to someone about the incident and why this couldn't be handled in a better Manor. It was the same lady, and we proceeded to talk to her about it, she gave many poor excuses, one being that there were none cut last night to put into boxes, which makes no sense at all, I am pretty they have cutlery in the back.. We asked to speak to a manager and she said that manager is not here today!! Very short and obviously not caring about out disdain for what had happened. I cannot tell what her name is but I believe her signature says Pamela Reynolds We will be driving back to Kansas City and not continuing the good words of food or service to anyone who travels to this area as well as not returning ourselves. I hope management will see this and correct this issue, with such a seemingly nice restaurant you would think this would be an important...

I don't normally give one star.. in fact I Wish it would have gone differently. Our server was really good. She really tried to make things right but her manager was not interested. We waited several minutes at the host stand. When no one showed up, we asked a waiter if we could it. He said the kitchen was closed but it was o my 8:40 and they close at 9. They still had live music. I think he thought it was later so no biggie. Then they told us to go to the host stand... said we have been waiting there for over 5 minutes so we were seeking help elsewhere. Finally seated but had to wait another 10 minutes for anyone to even say hi. We finally flagged down someone and said we have 5 minutes until the kitchen closed and so we really need to get our orders in. Our server came out and was quick to get the orders in. Food came out quick as well but my smoked chicken was basically chicken jerky. No meat on the Qing because so dried up. Meat was so dry you had to drown it in the bbq sauce or take it with a swig of beer. We were so hungry that I picked the meat out under the burnt skin and at as much as I could find. It was terrible. Gas station chicken is like 5 stars compared to this. I told the waiter and she said she'd take it off the bill. The manager came out and because I ate it gave some lame excuse that their supplier is t giving them good meat she overruled the waiter and left it on! Unless their supplier is smoking it, that's not the problem. It was either super old and burnt or it was just left in the smoker too long and burnt or not was rehired and burnt. We paid the bill and left a decent tip but I just am so sad because it was one of my favorite restaurants and the experience was just yuck. My husbands food was good but he had a salad with steak...

The saga of Fred’s continues... It’s been nearly four years since this legendary Bentonville supper club was temporarily shuttered by a fire. Upon reopening things just weren’t the same, not by a long shot. The rebuilding of the structure was fine but the food and staff barely resembled the old Fred’s. Finally things have begun to seriously turn around. I would urge anyone that wrote Fred’s off as a lost cause to give them another look.

On a recent visit we were greeted warmly and quickly seated. It was immediately obvious that our server was the kind of pro Fred’s used to regularly employ. I usually don’t mention names, even when the service is great, but Casey was quite possibly the best server we’ve had in Northwest Arkansas, and we’ve had some very good service locally. His knowledge of the menu, both food and drink, was impressive. Further he had extensive knowledge of Fred’s history and an obvious passion for his profession.

Fred’s is unique in that it’s calling card is smoked meats, especially ribs, combined with a relaxed fine dining atmosphere. In recent times this was one of the areas where Fred’s struggled; not anymore. The house-made sausage, pork and beef made for a terrific appetizer, The Fred’s Sampler. The Steak Salad was elevated to outstanding by the perfectly seasoned and grilled steak and wonderful house-made dressings. The Smoked Chicken with an accompanying Rib were off the charts, like I’d been transported to Fred’s circa 1971. The Cheesecake was a fitting end to an exceptional dining experience that I hope to soon repeat.

One word of advice; unless you are already a fan skip the spaghetti, this just isn’t an...